


From a N00b to a Scoob

by Shark_Puppy



Category: Archive Of Our Own | AO3
Genre: America is Burning, Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Gen, Listen to me and you WILL succeed, Long live the Queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28655064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shark_Puppy/pseuds/Shark_Puppy
Summary: Here you will learn the secrets to the Archive.* How to better search the Archive* How to get more Hits* How to get more Kudos* How to be a decent human beingRead now and get the limited time offer:* Step by Step Guide to Finding Masterpieces in the ArchiveOR:me ranting for words 600 about how not to be a noob
Relationships: Being a Judgemental Platypus/Actually Trying to Help
Kudos: 4





	From a N00b to a Scoob

Welcome! Here is random information that I decided to share with people who have not yet been enlightened.

How to judge works on AO3:

Hits: 

Readers:  
When sorting by Hits you are generally looking at the stories with the best plot idea and/or the most intriguing summaries and does not necessarily mean that it is the best quality. 

Writers Tips:  
To get more Hits you need to make sure you have a well written intriguing summary. DO NOT say that you are bad at writing summaries! It makes you look less competent as a writer. If you feel that your summaries are lacking, have someone go over it with you and be open to constructive criticism. 

Kudos:

Readers:  
When sorting by Kudos you are going to see the stories that people have read and liked enough to stop and give Kudos. That holds more weight and is a better representation of how 'good' a story is.

Writers Tips:  
The way to get more Kudos is to improve the quality. Sometimes that means looking at some of your favorite works and comparing them to noob works. Try and find the differences. What did you like or dislike that influenced your views. If you want to get better you should practice World Building tm or write a Character Study tm. The story isn't all about a good plot, although that is important, you can have an amazing story but with grammatical errors or bad flow. I hate to be that person but please DO NOT say that this is your first fanfic. Don't even say it is you're first of that particular fandom. It makes you look inexperienced and leaves readers questioning the flow, syntax, and/or style of the work. 

How to Find the Honest to God Masterpieces:

Just because something is popular does not make it better then other works, sometimes you've gotta put more work into your search if you want to find those works that blow your mind. I usually search using the tags/fandom because the filters are easier to implement than when you are searching from the search bar.

Step 1:

Sort works by Kudos. As I said above, Kudos = Quality. Use the filters to narrow down what you want to read.

Step 2:

Find a work that interests you.

Step 3:

Read the tags. A lot of people go into a work without doing so and end up hating on the story because they couldn't do a simple task.

Step 4:

This is the fun part. Look at the number of Hits and Kudos. Lets use the story [I Am Groot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2080878)  


**Language: English Words: 1,308 Chapters: 1/1 Comments: 2581 Kudos: 89302 Bookmarks: 3411 Hits: 807922**

  
As you can see it has 807922 Hits and 89302 Kudos. You want the Kudos to be at least 10% of the Hits. That means that out of every 10 people who read it, one person leaves a Kudos.  
You don't even have to use a calculator. Count the digits for the number of Hits, then the number of Kudos. The Kudos should have one digit less than the amount of Hits. Next look at the first two - three digits (starting on the left) and the two numbers should be equal. If you have super high standards you can choose ones where the first digits of the Kudos are higher than the Hits or if you have lower standards you can do it the opposite.

Step 5:

read

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

**Author's Note:**

> Special Thanks to:
> 
>  **Anonymous** for their helpful HTML guide: [html guide](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23619817)
> 
>  **sherlocksmyth** for the fic with the most Kudos on AO3: [I Am Groot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2080878)


End file.
